An amazing thing happened to me last weekend. I rode in the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC), which this year will raise $52 million for cancer research. I've participated in other rides that raise money for cancer research in the past, but my experience with this ride exceeded all of my expectations.
- Was it getting up at 4 am two days in a row to ride with 6,000+ riders from Sturbridge to Bourne, MA and then Bourne to Provincetown for a combined 192 miles? (You can check out our actual ride with those links.)
- Was it meeting like-minded people who are all raising money and riding through rain and shine to help provide much needed funding to finding treatments - and hopefully a cure - for cancer?
- Was it stopping on the way to meet cancer survivors, including a girl who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma as an infant who is now heading to college?
- Was it being cheered for and thanked by hundreds of people on the roadside who were saying thank you to all 6,000+ riders as they rode by, symbiotically making a difference to each other?
- Was it meeting volunteers who were working at medical tents, water stops, serving food, directing traffic donating their time and energy to the cause? (There were 4,000+ volunteers!)
The answer to all of these questions is YES! The combined experience, the vibe of being part of something much bigger than yourself, with a collective goal of eradicating cancer, was amazing.
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, President and CEO of the Dana Farber Cancer institute talked about the recent advances in cancer treatments like immunotherapy that successfully enables the immune system to attack cancer cells.
The energy, the effort, the people and the physical challenge all added up to an awesome weekend.
At iuvo Technologies, we like to give back to the community and one of our core values is to make our effect on the world and people around us better than when we arrived. If you have the chance to ride or volunteer in the PMC in the future, I would highly recommend it.